Tuesday, November 6, 2012

Today is election day!Did you get out and vote?Here are some election day fun facts that you can read while you are
waiting in line at the polls.

The finish line is almost here. Americans
have weighed a plethora of questions in choosing their presidential candidate.

But amid the quadrennial explosion of
political ads, bumper stickers and debates, some questions still baffle: Why is
the Republican mascot an elephant? Why are Democrats linked to the color blue?
And what happens if the candidates tie?

Below, a voter's guide to such perpetually
confounding riddles:

Q. Why are
presidential elections always in November, and always on Tuesdays?

It all comes down to weather, harvests and
worship.

Back when voters traveled to the polls by
horse, Tuesday was an ideal day because it allows people to worship on Sunday,
ride to their county seat on Monday and vote on Tuesday - all before market
day, Wednesday.

And the month of November fit nicely between
harvest time and brutal winter weather -- which can be especially bad when
you're trudging along by horse and buggy.

But since many voters now travel by
horsepower instead of live horses, some people -- like the group Why Tuesday?
-- are pushing to move election day to a weekend day to increase the country's
historically dismal voter turnout. According to the group, 15 states do not
allow early voting, and 27% of non-voters said the main reason why they didn't
vote was because they were too busy or couldn't get time off to vote.

Q. Why do
Republicans have an elephant and Democrats have a donkey?

Back in 1874, cartoonist Thomas Nast used an
elephant to depict the Republican vote in his drawing "The Third-Term
Panic." The cartoon was published in Harper's Weekly after the owner of
the New York Herald reportedly criticized the notion of Republican President
Ulysses S. Grant running for a third term. (Grant didn't end up running in the
next election).

In the drawing, an "ass" --
depicting the New York Herald -- scares away other animals in a forest as the
elephant -- or the Republican vote -- looks like it's about to stumble into a
pit.

But that cartoon isn't where where the
Democratic donkey came from. In 1828, Democrat Andrew Jackson's critics called
him a "jackass" because of his populist views and his slogan,
"Let the people rule." Jackson decided to run with it -- even using
images of a donkey in his campaign ads. Later, Nast also used a donkey to
depict the Democratic party.

Q. Why are
Democratic states "blue," and why are Republican states
"red"?

There's nothing magical about this color
scheme. Essentially, the media made it up.

Sure, there are logical reasons to use red
and blue -- both are colors in the American flag, and they look sharp on
infographics because they're pretty much on opposite ends of the color
spectrum.

But the seemingly arbitrary color
assignments have actually flip-flopped over the years. In 1980, states won by
Republican Ronald Reagan were colored blue; Democrat Jimmy Carter's states were
colored red.

Even as late as 1996, major media outlets
were divided on how to color-code the parties. But in 2000, when Americans were
subjected to weeks of news about recounts, pregnant chads and electoral
infographics, everyone seemed to get on the same page and shaded
Republican-leaning states red and Democratic-leaning states blue.

Q. What
happens if candidates tie in electoral votes?

It's possible that Barack Obama and Mitt
Romney snag the exact same number of electoral votes. In that case, the 12th
Amendment says the House of Representatives gets to pick the president. And
since analysts expect Republicans to maintain control of the House, Romney
would likely win the presidency.

In the same scenario, the Senate would get
to choose the vice president. And because Democrats are expected to keep
control of that chamber, senators could select incumbent Vice President Joe
Biden to form a split administration.

Q. Why do
presidents have to wait all the way until January 20 to assume office?

It used to be a lot longer. Until 1937,
presidents didn't get sworn in until March 4 because it took so long to count
and report ballots, and because of the winner's logistical issues in moving to
the capital.

But then better technology kicked in, and
the 20th Amendment moved presidential inaugurations to noon on January 20 --
allowing presidents to start taking care of business sooner.